Be You, Beautiful
by mousehole
Summary: because 'be you' is part of the word 'beautiful.' RokuNami


Second one shot~ Okay, time for a little story! :) I was lurking in Twitter when I saw one of the Trending Tweets: #iwasthekid . Being the loser I am, lots of sad things came back to me. I figured I'd write them all down because... I don't want to study for my finals. Plus, admittedly, it's quite fun using experiences for shorts.

I'm using this as my 'study break.'

Anyway, here we are!

* * *

_**be you, beautiful.**_

_My name is Naminé, and I'm a loser._

That's what she repeated in her mind, every time she walked down the crowded school halls. Other students looked at her with contempt, while there were those who snickered when she passed them by.

Naminé sighed to herself, wondering what she did wrong, so wrong to deserve this treatment. She couldn't remember for her life when it all began. She just knew nobody liked her. To girls, she was as interesting as a cold potato; to boys, she was hard to please. What _did_ she do wrong?

The flaxen haired girl stood in front of her locker, pulling out the binders she needed for her next class, her figure stooped low with the self confidence she had, or lacked thereof. She didn't mind being ignored; after all, that was what happens when you're painfully shy, right? Apparently not; you also get bullied by the other girls. As for those guys… they just didn't know she existed. Not that they'd care. Then again, there were those few who made her life a living hell.

A gaggle of girls that passed by purposely knocked Naminé by the shoulder causing the poor blonde to drop her notebooks. Leaves of paper spilled out. She blushed with embarrassment, both by the sudden drop of her things and the evil giggles emitted by the girls. The girl knelt down to pick up the loose papers one by one, trying to evade the parade of feet passing her by.

She wasn't always like this, Naminé. Up until this school year, she was pretty okay, far from being down there in the social food chain. She was protected by bullies when she had Kairi and Aqua, two of the popular people. Unfortunately, Aqua graduated high school already, and towards the end of their sophomore year Kairi moved to the Destiny Islands. She was left defenseless.

If only she were like Kairi, the outgoing one, she wouldn't be in such a predicament. If only she were like Aqua, charming and sincere, then maybe she'd have the respect any decent person was born with.

"_Kairi," she was on the verge of tears. "I can't stand it anymore! Nobody likes me, they all hate me for some reason! I didn't even do anything to them except be quiet. But what's so wrong with that?"_

"_Aw, it's okay," Kairi replied, although they both knew it wasn't. "Maybe that's it, you're just quiet. You should open up and be yourself. Not everyone knows you the way Aqua and I do. Maybe it's time to show them who you really are, right? No harm in that!"_

"_Well, maybe," Naminé said dubiously. "I'll try that."_

"_That's the spirit," the girl on the other side of the line cheered. It made the blonde smile._

"_I still wish you and Aqua were here, though," her blue eyes were welling up again with tears. "Things wouldn't suck right now."_

Naminé did take Kairi's advice to heart, maybe a bit too seriously even. The week after, Naminé came to school with a bright smile on her face. She conversed with her classmates enthusiastically, even ate lunch with them on a regular basis. That was, until she realized that behind their plastic smiles, they were snickering at her. Apparently she was awkward, and trying hard to belong. She was pushed out, accused of so many unbelievable things. It was childish, really, but when you're dealing with children… she let it pass. _Be the bigger person_, she kept telling herself.

_Be yourself… right_, Naminé laughed to herself as she sat down in her seat. Ironically, it was what pushed her away from everyone else. _It's easy for Kairi because everyone likes her._

"Hey, could we please exchange seats?" Naminé responded to a tap on the shoulder. Her gaze met the famous blue-and-green orbs of Yuna. The brunette's million dollar smile appeared. "I want to sit here today."

It never ceased to amaze the blonde, how these girls never got the pattern. "I'm kind of sitting here already," she replied softly but firmly. Then again, maybe they just needed the ammo.

Yuna pouted. It annoyed Naminé to no end. They always thought it was cute and heart-melting, but they just looked dumb.

Besides, she knew Yuna just wanted to chat with Rikku.

"I'm sorry," she replied politely. "But I was kind of here first, so…"

The brunette's face soured. "You know what," she snapped. "I know you don't have friends, but that doesn't mean you have to severe others' friendships!"

The pale girl blushed crimson. She hung onto her books tightly. She knew everyone in class was watching. Why didn't the teacher come in yet?

It was true that she didn't want to give in partly because she wanted, in a way, for others to feel what she'd always gone through: rejection. Then again, she just didn't want to look like a pushover.

"Well?" Yuna prompted. "Get off!"

Rikku, the usually sunny blonde seated to Naminé's right, joined the fray. "Yeah," she said, her eyes showing irritation. "Yuna and I need to talk about something important."

"Why do you have to be so snotty anyway?" Naminé may be at the bottom of the ladder, but she never lost her stubborn streak. It was something innate, and probably what made her a loser. "I was here first. Get over it."

Some of her classmates snickered. Naminé felt ridiculous for feeling a bit supported by them.

"It's just a seat," Yuna was trying another tactic, but Naminé knew it. She went through it _every_ day.

Naminé couldn't waver, not now. Where was the teacher? "Exactly," the pale girl replied just as sweetly, keeping her temper in check. "It's just a seat, so get another one."

Sensing the conversation was over, Rikku jumped in again. "Come on, let her have the seat!" If that girl hadn't been such a brat, maybe she would have wavered.

"Unlike you two, I care about my grades," Naminé said pointedly. She regretted it instantly, when she heard the silent '_that's so low'_ vibes surfacing from every student in the room's mind.

"You little _bitc_–!"

"Yuna, come on! She won't budge, okay?" It was Rikku. "Let her have the seat." She was grinning menacingly. Naminé knew she was doomed.

o0o

Why did Kairi have to leave? Why did Aqua have to graduate? Naminé wanted to cry. Her teacher never came into the room, and the whole period consisted of Rikku doing _something_ or another, pestering the pale blonde. For example, she stole the girl's binders and printed obscene words all over the papers inside with a fat red marker.

As for Yuna, well, she was seated at the back of the room. Naminé didn't know what the problem was: she was with the popular crowd: the Struggle Varsity players anyway. Plus, she wasn't having a hard time chatting up a storm, was she? Indeed, she just wanted to make her life miserable.

The bell had rung, and the girl was off to her locker yet again. Finally, the day was about to end! Just one more subject to go through and she was free.

As she weaved through the halls, she wondered what it would have been like if she had a boyfriend. Would it have been easier? Would her status have been elevated? Would people stop picking on her?

_Don't be silly_, she quipped to herself. _No one would want me. I'd just bring them down to the same loser level as I'm in._ Still, she wondered what life would have been like if she had a boy. She called Aqua once, to ask her about it. After all, Aqua was dating the captain of the Blitzball team, Terra.

It wasn't that Aqua was all wrong for him, but they were both so different: she had a free verse spirit; he looked at things straight ahead. She had a select few friends (_select_ being the key word here); his friends consisted of the whole school. She was easily impressed; he wasn't.

One could say opposites attract, but in Naminé's case, did it mean boys were all just like her?

"_How'd you get together with Terra anyway," Kairi quizzed Aqua._

_She giggled. "Oh, it's a bit cliché," she said. Naminé noted the pink tinge on her cheeks. Clearly, Aqua liked to talk about Terra. "I kind of dropped my books in front of him, but not on purpose," she quickly added. "And you know, one thing led to another…"_

"_But you're both so different!" Naminé exclaimed, looking up from the book she was reading. The trio was in Aqua's abode, lazing around in the living room. "I can't believe someone as smart as you are –"_

"_He's smart, you know!" Aqua huffed. "Just because he's on the team doesn't make him stupid."_

"_I didn't mean it that way!" Naminé's cheeks prickled with shame. Kairi was screaming with laughter. "Nams, that's so mean! You won't get a guy that way!"_

"_Well I'm sorry, but you won't either," the blonde countered lightly, giggling herself. "The way I see it, they're afraid of you!"_

_Kairi blushed. "I can't help it if I'm 'too loud' like they say I am," she retorted. "It's more like they're too shy." Naminé and Aqua shook their heads, smirking._

"_But how _did_ you get a guy anyway? How do you get a guy, that's my question," Naminé said sorrowfully. If she'd been talking with other people, she would have been embarrassed. But this was a conversation with her best friends, Kairi and Aqua. It was alright._

_It was alright to ask those kinds of questions._

"_Just be you," Aqua advised. Even Kairi nodded wisely._

"_Isn't that what keeps me away from them?"_

"_No," the azure haired girl shook her head sagely. Trust Aqua to know these things. "You just have to be you. If they don't like it, then that means they're incapable of seeing your beauty."_

"_But I'm not beautiful enough!"_

_Aqua gave her a look. "Yes you are. Just be you."_

"_Right," agreed the redhead. "After all, 'be you' is in 'beautiful,' isn't it?"_

"_Yeah, right," Naminé rolled her eyes. "I'll call you when that happens."_

"_I'll be waiting," Kairi winked._

"Just look at her," she heard them say. She was by her locker again, her haven, the only place where she let her guard down. Every moment in school was a hard battle. "She's so pathetic, even trying to keep a _chair_."

Why did she even let them get her down?

"I heard she went out with that Hayner guy," she heard another one say.

"Isn't he Olette's?"

"Yeah, I know!"

She knew that by the end of the day, that rumor was bound to warp into something worse. "Boy, will Olette be furious!"

The truth was that Naminé and Hayner were cousins. They rarely walked home together, mainly because Hayner didn't like being seen with her (he said it was because he had projects to do, but he wasn't fooling anyone); heck, no one even knew they were related. It was only yesterday when he walked her home because he had to pick something up from her house.

History was her next subject.

She rushed into the room, sat down, and buried her face in her arms.

"Did you hear about Naminé and Hayner?"

"No, what happened?

"I heard they…"

"No way!"

Why were they doing this to her?

"Hey, is anyone seated here beside you?"

It took Naminé a while to realize the voice was a different one, and it was talking to her. She sat up straight and looked into the addresser. Her gaze met cobalt orbs. "N-no," she replied meekly, trying hard as not to stare at his sandy gravity-defying locks.

He took the seat and propped his books onto the table. "I haven't seen you around, are you new?" he was smiling at her.

"N-no," she repeated, just as uncertainly. _But I know you,_ she told him mentally. It was Roxas Hikari, one of the Blitzball varsity players. He was the most popular player on the team, and a lot of girls flirted with him. He would react to them, even go as far as flirt right back, but never did he answer the famous "I love you" of any girl. Not even Yuna. _I'm not surprised that you don't know me_.

His eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. She noticed a few girls looking at the two blondes conversing with each other. Their eyes could have been daggers. She replied with "It's alright." She couldn't help but add "It happens all the time."

"No kidding?" Naminé knew he meant no offense. "B-but you're pretty!"

"H-huh?" her face reddened. "You don't say that to -!"

"No, no! What I meant was… agh!" Roxas rapped his head with a fist. "I mean, what?"

She felt like she could open up to him, so she did. Not like he'll remember her anyway, right?

"Do you see those girls over there?" she bent over, whispering. He bent close too, just so he could catch what she was saying. He smelled good, she noted absently. He nodded. "They all hate me."

The boy laughed. It wasn't even the low chuckle boys tuned when they heard a corny joke. He really thought it was funny. Naminé was confused. "R-really, they do!" she insisted.

"It's just the way you said it," his cobalt eyes were sparkling with amusement. "Why would they hate you, uh..."

"Naminé," she supplied.

"That's a nice name," he smiled. Her heart flopped. "I'm Roxas!"

As if she didn't know. "Your name is nicer," she said awkwardly. "Anyway, they hate me because… I don't know why."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Seriously. If you want to see their hate in action, maybe you'd like to hover around my locker." It came out more like a pick up line than a sarcastic invitation. The realization made the pale girl blush.

"Maybe I will," he accepted, grinning at her. Roxas leaned back in his seat. After a pause, he said, "I'm kind of seeing it right now."

Naminé giggled. It was nice, having someone to talk to for once. And a _boy_ at that!

"How do you live with it?"

She shrugged, crossing her legs. "It's the price of being me," she said simply. The blonde did not want to go into detail. "Besides," she steered the conversation to him. "Wouldn't talking to me affect your social status?"

Roxas blinked. "Why would that be?" he asked bluntly.

Before she said anything, the history teacher walked in, cutting their conversation short. Naminé opened her book, only to lose her concentration. She was torn between stealing glances at the friendly blonde seated beside her and watching the jealous glares of the other girls.

Before she knew it, History was over. The bell rang. Her classmates folded their books shut and raced out of the room.

"So, let me walk you?" she whipped her head around, surprised. "What, you don't want me to?"

She bit back her retort. "S-sure, if you want to," she fumbled for words. Naminé felt warm inside.

"Aw, I thought we're done with being quiet," Roxas teased. "No need to act so… stiff around me!"

The girl beamed back at him. "Then stay a few paces back, else you won't see anything," she said, melting into the crowd. For once, she knew that the eyes following her weren't out of senseless anger.

o0o

"Ooh, look at her, smiling," behind her were Rikku and Yuna. Naminé ignored them, knowing this will spark fury. Plus, she knew he was watching.

It was amazing, how some people never let go of trivial disputes. For example, the chair incident.

Naminé inserted her books in between the already placed ones in her locker, taking her time.

"Hey Rikku, do you want to go grab some Sea Salt Ice Cream?" Yuna was speaking loudly. Rikku was giggling ribbons. "I just _love_ how tasty it is!"

It was a known fact that Sea Salt Ice Cream was famous for its weird taste. The student body believed only losers liked the blue treat, only because they had matching loser pallets.

Naminé disagreed. For her, it was a beautiful treat. She loved it so much; she ate it almost every day. The girl would pick one up before heading home, even under scornful eyes. Actually, she might be the only one who ever bought one under their radar.

"You mean that blue thing?" Rikku asked innocently. Naminé hoisted her bag onto her shoulders, closing her locker door.

"Yes that one!" Yuna feigned surprise. "It tastes like sweat, doesn't it? I bet they have those _hairs_ in it too," the brunette was nodding her head in mock seriousness. "Hey Naminé," her attention called for the flaxen haired girl. Some students were gathered around the trio, watching the little soap opera unfold. "Do _you_ like Sea Salt Ice Cream?"

"The ones with _curly hair_ in them," Rikku added, smirking widely. "You know, the ones people have _down there_."

"I can't imagine why a lonely person like you eats that," Yuna pitied the blonde. "Then again, maybe it's to show that you like to suck –"

"Would you mind your own business?" Naminé snapped. It caused a bit of a stir in the watching crowd. Naminé, reacting? As far as they knew, she was as emotionless as a rock.

The brunette giggled. "Oh, so it _is_ true then! You like to _suck_ things. We never knew you had it in you," her words were thickly smothered with sweetness. "Listen Naminé, no one would ever go out with you, okay? No one wants to be your friend, so don't even try. No one will bother defending you because you're such a skank. No one wants to be seen with you, got that? Besides, who would want to eat your ice cream with you?"

Naminé's mouth was dry. If her face could get any paler, it did. She wanted to throw up. And this attack, she realized, was because she did not give up her seat.

Before she knew it, a hand covered her own and she was standing in someone's shadow (and it smelled good too). "Yuna, what's wrong with you?" it was him, Roxas.

"Oh, hi there, Roxas," the brunette's tone changed. "What's up? Why are you siding with her?"

"Walk us home," Rikku smiled at him.

"Give her a break, she didn't do anything in the first place." Roxas ignored their invitations. His azure eyes locked onto the shell shocked girl. "Let's go, Naminé, and get some ice cream. Sea Salt Ice Cream. How does that sound?"

All she could do was nod limply and be led away from the crowd, her hand still entwined in his.

o0o

He bought her the treat and one for himself too. She looked at it listlessly, her mind still in a whirl. She was about to sit in on the chair, when he tugged her arm and led her someplace else. "I know a better place," he said, eyes twinkling. She wished she could reciprocate his excited aura.

Roxas led her up the Twilight Tower. The elevator ride took a while, as the tower was up high. "I think you'll like it," he chattered on. "I come up here a lot, but," he seemed embarrassed. "I've never brought anyone along. It's my special place, you see."

This got her attention. "Yeah I know, right?" he chuckled. "But face it, I'm sure no one ever comes up here but me." They both got off the elevator. Roxas pushed the door open, letting the warm light from outside filter in. Naminé stepped out. Her eyes widened with awe.

"I told you," Roxas teased, pulling her gently. They leaned against the tower, looking at the whole town. "It's beautiful, right?" She looked at him. His face softened as he looked into the horizon. It was obvious that he loved the place.

For a while they just stood there, watching the sunset and eating their ice cream.

"You didn't have to come with me," Naminé finally spoke. He looked at her quizzically. "I know you're doing this out of pity, just like everyone else."

"No offense, but why would I pity you?"

The girl faced the boy, incredulous. "What," Roxas said. "Just because of Yuna? I brought you here because I wanted to, Naminé. Give me some credit, will you?"

"But why me?" she asked him. "No really! You didn't even know who I was before History class today, and we've been classmates ever since preschool. Really, Roxas…" She took a few steps forward, looking down at the ground so far below them.

He took a bite out of his ice cream and followed suit, standing beside the girl. "Because I find you beautiful."

It wasn't even _pretty_. It was _beautiful_. _No one's ever said that about me_, she thought to herself. "Th-thank you," she smiled slightly into her treat. Roxas was smiling at her now, tentatively slinging an arm around her slumped shoulders. She responded by cuddling closer. "You're… you. And I really like you for that."

"I like you too," Naminé replied, standing on her tiptoes and placing a small peck on his cheek. She smiled back at him. Before she knew it, his other arm snaked around her small waist, and his lips were on hers.

At the back of her mind, she hoped what was left over of her ice cream hit someone on the head, preferably a certain someone

_Maybe I'll give Kairi a call.

* * *

_

I was listening to BIG BANG's new album while writing this :) I'm really in love with the song CAFE. While I don't understand any of the lyrics, it was my background music while writing :)

Actually, this wasn't supposed to be this long. I got carried away with all the depressing stuff! Hope it was an okay read for you anyway, and not a drag? Please tell me in your review, so I'll know what to improve on! :)


End file.
